Min-jae Parker

Name: Min-jae Elliott Parker

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Grade: 12

School: Cochise High School

Hobbies and Interests: Goth rock and metal music, Goth subculture, drawing and painting, cooking

Appearance: Jae stands at 5’ 11” and weighs 163 pounds, putting him on the thin side. Along with his light weight, there is a bit of awkwardness to his long limbs, as he is still in the middle of his growth spurt. Jae is bi-racial, with a Korean mother and Caucasian father, and has a naturally fair complexion which he sometimes accentuates with pale foundation, particularly during sunnier months. He has a heart-shaped face with a sharp jaw and cheekbones, almond-shaped brown eyes, a slightly pointed nose, and full lips. His straight black hair falls a few inches past his shoulders and is cut in choppy layers, and his bangs are long and parted to the side. He pulls his hair back in a ponytail when he needs it out of his way. He has two piercings in the cartilage and one in the lobe of his right ear, a spider bite style piercing on either side of his lower lip, and a tongue piercing. He received the ones in his ear with the accompaniment of his parents on his sixteenth birthday, and the ones in his lip and tongue on his seventeenth. He generally wears simple silver rings in the cartilage and lip piercings, a spike in his earlobe and a plain silver stud in his tongue piercing.

Jae is very meticulous about his appearance and tends to dress for style over practicality. He favors a punk-goth aesthetic; his outfits tend to be in dark colors, with extra zippers, buckles, or other embellishments, ankle or knee-high boots, and a tank top or t-shirt layered over long sleeves, often topped off with his favorite black leather jacket. He frequently wears makeup, most often dark eye shadow and eyeliner, and sometimes nail polish.

On the day of the abduction, Jae was wearing his leather jacket, a gray t-shirt with a design of angel wings on the back over a long-sleeved fishnet shirt, black skinny jeans, and black combat boots with decorative extra buckles up the sides. He accessorized with two belts (one studded leather, one plain), his usual jewelry, and his typical eye shadow, eyeliner, and nail polish.

Biography: Min-jae Parker was born on June 9, 1997 to Ethan Parker and Hye Choi Young in Stanford, California. The first year of Jae’s life saw a good bit of financial strain on his parents, as Ethan was still finishing law school at Stanford and Hye was a recent graduate of the same, and both were working relatively low-paying jobs in their field to support themselves. They held off on getting married until they were more financially stable, a few years after Jae was born.

Though the couple both worked, they spent as much time with Jae as possible during his early childhood. When they could not coordinate their working hours so that one of them could be at home with him, he spent the day at a local daycare center that some of his parents' colleagues also used. He was an energetic and talkative child, but was prone to sulking and occasional tantrums if he didn’t get his way. It was apparent early on that he was inclined towards sketching and painting, and his parents encouraged his creativity. They took what free time they could to play or draw with him, and displayed his artwork around the house and in their workplace when appropriate. The family spoke both English and Korean in the home, so Jae entered school fluent in both. While he did fairly well in elementary school, teachers reported that he could be hyperactive and tended to talk out of turn, and was sometimes temperamental and argumentative with his teachers and other students, especially when he didn’t get his way. When he was disruptive in class, he was usually removed from the situation by his teachers until he calmed down, though a few repeated altercations with certain classmates resulted in being sent to the principal's office and a meeting between his parents and teachers. Ethan and Hye were more lax on disciplining Jae for his behavior at this point than they would be in the future, concerned that implementing strict disciplinary measures for the first few incidents of his misbehavior would be unfair on him. They tried to balance restricting privileges when he acted out with rewarding him for behaving and doing well in school, and this helped to curb his problematic behavior for the time being.

When Jae was in fifth grade, Hye began having vision problems and difficulty walking and keeping her balance. She held off seeing a doctor, hoping that the episodes would go away, but when her symptoms became so severe that she was unable to work, it was obvious that there was a deeper problem. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and it was recommended that she begin working from home or quit altogether due to her impacted work performance. After a long debate and discussion, Ethan and Hye agreed that she ought to take an indefinite hiatus from work until her condition improved, leading her to spend a few years as a stay-at-home mom.

Hye’s illness and leave from work had several effects on her relationship with Jae. He was initially stressed and scared by her suffering health, and though his parents explained the illness to him and assured him that Hye was not dying, it took a few months for him to get used to the dealing with her sickness. During this adjustment period, Jae’s incidents of acting out at school became more frequent, and he fell into a cycle of bottling up stress, having an outburst, and then being reigned in, which set the general tone for his future struggles with controlling his temper. His teachers were generally understanding during this time, thanks to what his family was going through, and he didn’t face any serious consequences at home due to his parents’ attention being mostly focused on Ethan’s increased time working and Hye adjusting to being at home and coping with her episodes.

Once Jae got more used to having Hye at home and was able to better understand what went on during her MS flare-ups, he was happy to be able to spend more time with his mom. He started taking on more responsibilities around the house, gradually getting more confident about taking care of himself and helping Hye out when she was having an episode. Through a combination of being taught by his mom and trial and error, Jae learned to cook and eventually was able to prepare simple meals for his family when neither of his parents was available.

Being able to spend more time with his mother also piqued Jae’s interest in the Korean side of his heritage. Hye was a practicing Buddhist, but her religion had gradually fallen out of her priorities when she was busy attending college and law school and then working to support her family; this and the fact that Ethan considers himself agnostic lead to religion having little presence in the Parker home until Hye decided to refocus on Buddhism. During the most trying years of her illness, she experienced a revival of faith, taking comfort in meditation and prayer and educating Jae on the ideals and practices of Buddhism. Jae expressed interest in practicing the religion along with his mother, but he found difficulty applying its philosophies to his everyday life. To this day, he fluctuates in how strictly he follows Buddhist principles, trying diligently to follow them for a while before his dedication wanes, then picking up again at a later time. Hye also began teaching him how to prepare a few simple Korean dishes when they spent time cooking together.

Partway through Jae's sixth grade year, Ethan reconnected with a friend from law school, one Vernon Kanuho. Vernon informed Ethan that he had established his own firm in his and Ethan’s hometown of Kingman, Arizona, and offered him the opportunity to sign on as an associate, stating that he would be willing to make allowances for Hye’s condition if she wished to return to work as well. Ethan and Hye debated the risks and benefits, and Ethan finally accepted, moving the family.

Jae did not react well; while he had eventually learned to cope relatively well with Hye's illness, the sudden uprooting of the family so soon afterward and in the middle of the school year left him feeling lost and stressed out. His behavioral problems resurfaced; the lingering stress from Hye’s illness, combined with the move and feelings of lacking control over what was going on began boiling over into verbal outbursts. He made some efforts to adjust and was able to form friendships with kids who shared his interests in art and cooking, but this was hampered by his lashing out when frustrated, earning him a reputation as bossy and sometimes outright mean.

Art had always been Jae’s main outlet for stress. Though his behavior began to go downhill in middle school, he continued to work and develop as an artist, trying to achieve more realism in his sketches and paintings, and experimenting with different mediums, like charcoal and colored pencil. His cooking skill also improved, and he began learning to make meals that required more time and skill, and experimented more with traditional Korean cuisine by elaborating on the dishes his mom had taught him to prepare and following other recipes that he found online.

In his freshman year of high school, Jae was drawn to the cliques of students who were involved in the Goth rock and metal subcultures. He liked the dark tone of the music and the Goth fashion, which he began to adopt into his everyday look. This began as increased interest in stores that purported themselves to be Goth or scene fashion, such as Hot Topic, but it was quickly pointed out to him by the kids more familiar with the subculture that people who frequented mainstream stores like that were usually seen as posers. He was directed towards thrift stores and online shops which catered to his tastes, and began drawing his parents’ attention to his desire to adopt a Goth look.

They were initially hesitant, concerned about the stereotypes associated with the subculture and uncertain about Jae’s motivations for wanting to become a part of it. Through discussing it with his parents over several weeks, Jae explained that he liked the music and the fashion, and the idea of an open-minded subculture that celebrated expressing one’s self in ways other than the mainstream. Eventually, Ethan and Hye agreed to let him begin making changes to his appearance, starting with purchasing a few thrift store items and making alterations. Their caveat for allowing him this was that he had to keep his grades up, and if it seemed to them that his new interest was getting him into more serious trouble he would have to abandon it.

Though he had finally found his niche, at the time Jae didn't make many close friends that shared his interests; the older kids in the Goth clique at school viewed him mostly as a hanger-on. Additionally, he had begun to drift apart from some of his friends, in part thanks to his continuing issues with needing to be in control of situations and difficulty keeping a handle on his temper.

During the same year, several instances of disciplinary action in close succession at school thanks to outbursts in class forced Jae's parents to acknowledge that his behavior had become an uncontrolled problem. Teachers frequently had their attention on him thanks to his past behavioral issues, leading to a self-feeding cycle where Jae felt that unfair pressure was being put on him, making him feel more stressed out, and thus more prone to the arguments that had gotten him attention in the first place. The school counselor suggested that Jae might benefit from anger management or at least general behavior counseling, and provided them with the necessary resources to find a therapist that would suit Jae. After a few general sessions with various counselors, they found a good match and Jae began more specialized therapy to help him deal with his anger and control issues in constructive ways. He currently attends counseling twice monthly, and his sessions focus mainly on helping him learn coping strategies for stressful situations and working through the reasons for his anger rather than bottling up his emotions for them to explode later.

Ethan and Hye remained somewhat at odds with Jae's interest in the Goth subculture thanks to his more serious behavioral problems becoming apparent around the same time that he was first drawn to it. It took a lot of discussion and convincing over the next few months for Jae to allay their concerns that his interest was the cause of his social issues, helped by the gradual improvement that they saw through his counseling sessions. They still claim to not fully understand Goth's appeal to him, but have gradually accepted that it is not influencing him towards more disruptive behavior. Once his parents relaxed their suspicions about it, Jae began to embrace the Goth subculture more fully as he went through high school, developing his own fashion sense and incorporating gothic elements into his art. At his parents' urging, he tried to branch out socially more, making friends with more artistic types and finding other kids who shared his taste in music. Around the beginning of his junior year of high school, Jae’s parents also encouraged him to get a part-time job, so that he could begin saving up money for the future and purchase some of the more expensive items of clothing or shoes that he wanted himself. After a short search, he found a job at a local movie theater, where he has been working for about a year.

Jae does decently in school, though he has a habit of letting his grades slip in other classes when he is busy with art. He is able to achieve at least B’s in most classes when he tries, usually with higher marks in history and language classes than math and science. Jae is a member of the art club and spends most of his free time during school in the art wing. When required to work with others in class, Jae generally tries to adopt a leadership role, feeling that he works best when he is the one in charge.

Aside from art, cooking is Jae’s biggest hobby. He finds it relaxing and enjoys the presentation of dishes, and he is frequently the one to cook dinner for his family, especially since Hye has begun working again now that she has been able to cope with her disease for a few years and Jae is older and more self-sufficient. The family tries to have at least one proper meal together a week, so that they can catch up on each other’s activities.

Aside from butting heads over his behavior, Jae has a healthy and close relationship with both his parents. His mother and father do their best to be understanding of the causes behind his anger issues and encourage him to be more open to others. All of them are less close with their extended family, however, as both Ethan and Hye’s relatives had mixed reactions to their relationship being interracial and their having a child before marriage. Things have grown less strained over time, but Jae still rarely sees his relatives outside of holidays and special occasions such as weddings; most of Hye’s family lives overseas, so traveling to see them is expensive and time-consuming and his immediate family has only made the trip a few times during his childhood. Jae is somewhat uncomfortable around much of his extended family, aware of their feelings about his parents' marriage and his mixed heritage. He has better relationships with his cousins who are close to his age than with his older relatives, but is still not particularly close with any of them.

With the help of counseling and just generally maturing, Jae is gradually becoming more laidback and positive, though his anger management skills are still very much a work in progress. He is improving, but he can still be quick to lose his temper, and he tends to get defensive easily when he feels that he is being insulted or unfairly targeted. However, he is learning to recognize when he has crossed the line, and he usually tries to own up and make amends when it happens. He is gentler with people that he is close with than strangers, but his general attitude is a turn-off to some.

One of his biggest personal struggles in recent years has been with his sexuality; Jae has never been especially interested in dating, and recently he has begun to consider that this is because he is attracted to men rather than women. He is very conflicted about this, worrying about the reaction he’d get from friends and family if he were to admit it. He does have a developing relationship with his classmate Hazel Jung but he is uncertain if his feelings for her are actually romantic, and this is compounded by his confusion regarding his feelings for other boys.

Jae's impulsiveness still sometimes gets him in trouble, and he still has a bit of a reputation as a bully or a control freak. He sometimes feels as if he is stuck with the image that others have of him, so he doesn't always make as much of an effort to stay out of altercations as he should. He also talks a lot, especially when he is nervous or anxious, which can annoy some people. If people can get past that, however, Jae is always willing to talk about art or music with those who are interested. He is happy with his own company, but he also enjoys being around people in casual settings. He is a social smoker and drinker, partaking in alcohol and cigarettes if they are available at parties. As the end of his high school years approach, he has been smoking more, keeping cigarettes and borrowing them from friends more often, particularly when stressed. Since he is under 18 and not legally able to smoke, he only smokes outside of the house and generally in private places where few people will see him, to try and minimize the chances of his parents finding out.. Similarly, he has never smoked pot or tried any other drugs when they were available for fear of the consequences if it were to get back to his parents.

Jae is set to attend a local community college after graduating high school, but he is still uncertain if he wants to pursue higher education beyond that or if he wants to try working as a freelance artist or illustrator. He is considering taking a year off to travel after completing his basics, and has been saving his money accordingly.

Advantages: Jae is confident, independent, and decently smart. He works well in leadership roles if he is able to get others to follow him.

Disadvantages: Jae’s anger issues and reputation as a mouthy bully may make it difficult for him to gain or keep allies, and he doesn’t work well with others if he can’t be in control. His developing smoking habit could have a negative impact on his physical ability and would result in mild nicotine withdrawal if he is unable to smoke. His impulsiveness could get him into trouble if he makes rash decisions at the wrong time.

Designated Number: Male student No. 001

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Designated Weapon: Telescopic Baton

Conclusion: I can appreciate confidence and independence, but those anger issues might not do you so well in a survival situation. Good luck, and I hope that baton helps. It's not a gun, but it's something I suppose. - Boris Petrikov

'The above biography is as written by backslash. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: backslash

Kills: Samuel Howard, Lily Caldwell, Brendan Harte, Jonathan Gulley

Killed By: N/A, Winner

Collected Weapons: Telescopic Baton (assigned weapon, to Cass Prince), crossbow (from Samuel Howard), 6-foot Bo Staff (from Henry Spencer, left behind), taser (from Dorothy Shelley), KABAR combat knife (from Dorothy Shelley), Heckler & Koch PSG-1 (BKA prize)

Allies: Vanessa Stone, Hazel Jung, Jordan Green, Asha Sur, Dorothy Shelley, Kimiko Kao

Enemies: Alvaro Vacanti, Samuel Howard, Michael Crowe, Isabel Ramirez, Lily Caldwell, Brendan Harte, Alba Reyes, Caedyn Miller, Jasmine Reed, Emma Luz, Dorothy Shelley, Jonathan Gulley, Nate Turner, Fiyori Senay

Mid-game Evaluation: Min-jae came to in one of the regular ward rooms, and began taking out his anger on his surroundings after appraising the contents of his bag. He was caught off guard by Alvaro Vacanti, and Min-jae's usual standoffish demeanor and an ill-advised attempt to move Alvaro out of his way provoked an unstable Alvaro to lash out. During the fight Min-jae's knee was crippled by a kick from Alvaro, and Alvaro ran off leaving Jae to hobble away.

He limped across the asylum floor to the staff lounge. He scared off Nancy Kyle with his appearance but was able to enlist assistance from Vanessa Stone, who put a splint on his leg and treated his other miscellaneous injuries. They decided to roam together for the meantime, and traveled up to the rooftop where they found Travis Lynch and Cass Prince. They shared a poignant moment and cigarettes before Jae decided they weren't welcome there. Vanessa agreed, and with their final words they departed.

Jae and Vanessa spent the night in an area of the staff dormitories and set out early in the morning to look for their friends. They heard the first announcement while en route to the radio tower, and Min-jae was disturbed to hear about the death of Scarlett McAfee at Nancy's hands, and the fact that Alvaro had killed someone. While he was musing on the possibility of coming across Alvaro again and the fact that a fatal fight would likely ensue if that happened, he and Vanessa reached the tower's control shack, where they found a distraught Eliza Luz. Min-jae, in turn, was distracted by the appearance of his familiar friend Hazel Jung and Jordan Green. He swapped information and an awkward hug with Hazel, before the two of them decided to seek shelter elsewhere and left, inviting the others to follow. Only Jordan did, and Jae found he did regret losing Vanessa slightly.

They camped in the vehicle depot for the night, using the interiors of two trucks as makeshift beds. Jae took a separate truck from the other two for the sake of comfort. Hazel found him, citing her inability to sleep. The two quickly grew close as Hazel sought comfort from him, they kissed, but Hazel wanted to go further still and started stripping. Every time Hazel asked his consent Jae gave it, tried to feel it, but as they continued Jae found it increasingly hard to convince himself that he enjoyed their sex, until it awkwardly petered out after he orgasmed. Hazel left without saying much further and Jae was suddenly so bothered he decided to leave, believing he needed some time away and that he'd return. He left some of his supplies, even draped his jacket over Hazel while she slept.

He slowly made his way across the island, fleeing as far as the asylum, and he sought shelter in the library. Samuel Howard heard him, and they both tried to keep away from the other. Unsure if anyone else was in the library or not, Jae announced that he had a weapon, which provoked a crossbow shot from Samuel which barely missed him. The attack drew Jae's temper to the fore and he retaliated, throwing a book to throw Samuel off his guard before tackling him down and beating him to death with the baton. He blacks out from the exertion of the effort for a few hours. By the time he's awoken he already feels regret, but knows the regret is pointless and stalks off, not sure how to proceed from there. He takes shelter in the chapel, and stays there even after announcements confirm he's a killer.

Brendan Harte, Asha Sur, and Dorothy Shelley arrived while Jae was trying to rest more, while he welcomed Asha he was in particular put off by Brendan as he was a known killer, and tried to threaten him with the crossbow. Asha and Dorothy played mediators and got both Brendan and Jae to stand down and explain themselves. Brendan then promptly left, and Jae didn't share the girl's interests in tracking him down. He wanted a moment to himself with Asha to confess things on his mind, but couldn't get it as he saw a new threat in the bloodied Alessio Rigano, who he turned his crossbow on. Asha and Dorothy tried, and failed, to get Al to stand down, and he was eventually scared off by the arrival of Michael Crowe. Michael was one of the other suspects Brendan had implicated in the situation that led to Jerry's death, and Jae had little reason to trust him, calling Michael out for trying to play the pity card and using Asha as a human shield from Jae's retaliation.

The argument between Michael and Min-jae escalated until Michael threatened Asha and Dorothy to deter Jae from shooting at him, at which point Dorothy shouted out (falsely) that Isabel Ramirez had arrived behind Michael, preparing to attack. Asha took advantage of the distraction to retrieve her assigned taser from Dorothy's bag and warn Michael off, after which he retreated. After taking a moment to calm down from the confrontation, Asha and Dorothy barricaded the front doors of the chapel, and Jae went to sleep until the evening.

Min-jae woke up to find Dorothy asleep and Asha handing off the watch shift to him. He sought conversation, awkward as it felt, but Asha quickly turned the conversation pleasantly dour by relaying her being robbed and her run in with Isabel, which led to him sharing his supplies. The conversation then turned Jae's way, and he in turn confessed what he believed were his fuckups in abandoning Hazel and killing Samuel. Asha tried to comfort him by philosophically absolving him of his crimes, but he was unconvinced. He struggled to find anything else to talk about, so he decided to finally admit aloud that he was gay. Asha took the news predictably well, and the seriousness of the conversation ended as Dorothy came to. The next day Jae was dismantling the barricades when announcements started. He was typically sour towards the news of the evil deeds of his peers until he heard that Al, from yesterday, had killed Henry Spencer, his closest friend from school and the boy he'd been attracted to. Jae began to freak out and scream, and only stopped when Asha called on him to, as the area had become a danger zone.

The group temporarily split, Asha and Dorothy looking to go to the roof to deal with their own loose ends. Jae stayed to scavenge ground level, due to his injuries making stairs a challenge. He explored the one-on-one therapy rooms and found the bodies that had begun to litter it, including Henry's. He ran to the body and knelt by it, reflecting on his conflicted emotions and admitting to himself that he'd loved Henry. He swore revenge on Al, and all the killers, and to take a more proactive approach to ridding the island of them all. But he couldn't help himself, and pathetically sobbed for Henry, for a good while until it was time for him to reunite with Asha and Dorothy.

He was scared for their safety and ascended as quickly as he could, which wasn't quick. He found them, maintaining a distracted sort of demeanor as he contemplated practical things like his ammo supply and the killers still active. He had re-purposed Henry's staff, at Asha's suggestion, into a walking staff. He was able to at least appreciate a bit of the running commentary from Asha as they moved on from the roof.

Jae, Asha, and Dorothy found shelter in an intensive care ward for the night. Jae and Dorothy were asleep when Asha was caught up in a confrontation with Isabel Ramirez and Lily Caldwell. Jae only woke to the sounds of their fighting, he quickly realized something was wrong and rushed to check on it, carelessly trampling Dorothy in the process. He realized what was happening, that Asha and Isabel were caught in a brutal melee, and he rushed to grab his bow and save Asha. Lily's presence was a momentary distraction, and he missed his chance at a clean shot. Instead he could only confidently get two shots in, as the chances of friendly fire were staying Jae's hand otherwise. He struck Isabel once, in the collar, but it wasn't enough, Isabel came out on top despite her extreme injuries. Asha died, Jae even being stained with droplets of her blood he'd been that close. He rushed to catch her corpse and begged for Asha to not die, locking up from emotional shock and agony as he failed to comprehend that she was gone. He would stay there until the morning of Day 5, cradling Asha and slowly settling into hoarse attempts to bargain with whatever it was her corpse represented. He apologized, stated his regrets, asked for guidance on how to proceed. He got nothing, and eventually he had to move on, abandoning Dorothy as he couldn't face her after what had happened.

His anger at the living smoldered as he trudged through the crematorium garden, at everyone who hadn't deserved to live in place of Asha. He took weary shelter leaning against a thick willow, on the other side unbeknownst to him, Jasmine Reed was hidden in prepared ambush. Who he could see approaching was Alba Reyes and shortly after her ally Brendan Harte. Jae especially had no kind words- or many at all- for Brendan, who typified the sort of character he'd come to loathe, an incompetent, undeserving survivor. Brendan tried to argue on his own behalf, to beg Jae to understand, but an exhausted and furious Jae would have none of it and he opened fire, non-lethally injuring Brendan. Alba interposed herself between them, threatening to shoot if Jae didn't leave.

They were interrupted by gunfire from the other side of the tree, caused by Jasmine's girlfriend Caedyn Miller, who had arrived and decided to try and capitalize on the situation by making the others take each other out. Alba instinctively tried to fire, but had left the safety on her gun, and in a panic she and Brendan fled. Min-jae rounded the tree and confronted Caedyn, whom he had a history of bad blood with, and the pair of them threatened each other. Caedyn told Jasmine to leave in case things grew violent, but Jae warned them both off, claiming that he didn't intend to kill anymore since he had already gotten one, a lie that he was ashamed of. Caedyn did leave without further fire being exchanged, but Jae yelled after them that their partnership couldn't last forever if either intended to win.

The next morning, Jae returned to the bridge once it was no longer a Danger Zone and bathed in the water underneath while reflecting on the fact that both Alvaro and Michael had died the day before. When he ascended again, he found his friend Nadia Riva crossing to the other side and called out to her. Nadia was guarded, questioning Jae on what had happened to him and why he had killed someone, but his answers seemed to satisfy her and they agreed to stick together for a short time. Nadia's continued musing on why people did what they did drew out Jae's bottled up feelings of disgust with his classmates and humanity in general, and he began to rant, finishing with the statement that he did still intend to kill any players he came across. Disturbed and convinced that this was evidence that Min-jae had grown unstable during the game, Nadia decided to try and take him down to prevent any further killing and his own pain. However, she failed to stab him properly, and he reacted in self-defense, striking and then shooting her with the crossbow as she attempted a second attack.

Badly injured, Nadia stated that she had been in the wrong and chose to calmly accept her death, taking matters into her own hands one last time instead of letting the terrorists credit Jae with another kill and give others more reason to go after him. After some parting words wishing him well, she let herself fall from the bridge, leaving Jae in hysterics as he struggled to process what had just happened. After he finally calmed down, Jae struggled back to his feet and bid Nadia farewell, tossing her makeshift weapon over the bridge after her and leaving once again, bitterly reflecting on the fact that the choices he had resolved to make would likely disappoint all his deceased friends.

He took a break to treat his new injuries and get his bearings in the hunting cabin. He had a brief moment of panic with an unknown intruder before learning it was merely Cass Prince, who he had met before way back on Day 1. Cass explained themselves and Jae assured them they were safe, even if he knew he couldn't properly trust them. Jae knew Travis Lynch had died, and offered brief condolences, that drew out Cass' existential worries and Jae parried as best he could by offering his views on the afterlife as a source of comfort, that everyone on the island would ultimately get what was coming to them. Cass continued to dourly meander in response, but their conversation got no further. Dorothy Shelley returned, and demanded an explanation for having been abandoned. That soured Jae's mood, as he'd managed to write her off as 'not his problem', he bluntly explained himself and said he'd done the best he could on her behalf. That got Dorothy to calm down, and she tried to settle into the rhythm of regular conversation with Cass. In the process she revealed she'd fought and won against Alessio Rigano, but had spared his life. Jae immediately turned on her, furious with her for having spared him and demanding to know where he needed to go to finish him off. She meekly offered to take care of it and departed. Cass demanded to know whether Jae was just going to let Dorothy run off and kill someone for him, and he tersely responded in the negative, loading his crossbow and preparing to follow her. After a moment of consideration, he left Cass the baton for self-protection before departing in pursuit of Dorothy and Alessio.

He slept uneasily in a Staff A dormroom, woke to two surprises in Dorothy having been partially responsible for Isabel's death and Isabel's lackey apparent, Lily Caldwell, having found him. Lily quickly tried to leave but Jae called her back into an awkward confrontation where they exchanged names before immediately tackling the elephant in the room, Lily's involvement in the death of Asha. Lily stuttered through an explanation that she'd had no part in it and assured him she didn't want a fight, he contemplated on his hatred of her and coldly replied likewise. She had no response when he asked her what she intended to do next, and turned tail. He was left with his own thoughts, thoughts of self-hatred and then of his failures to redeem himself, and her failures likewise that had led to Asha's death, and these thoughts eventually led him to decide that they were both dead to rights. But he had the opening, so it was her blood that would be spilled. He landed a crossbow bolt into her spine from behind, then shut out her dying noises and assured himself she deserved it. Emma Luz appeared and Jae quickly returned to the room to hide, not wanting to deal with the complication.

After realizing that she had failed to save Lily's life and briefly went into shock over it, Emma approached the room where Min-jae was hiding and called out to him. He remained hidden in hopes that she would leave, but Dorothy arrived on the scene soon after and Jae reluctantly emerged to take stock of the situation. Dorothy casually and cheerfully explained how she had helped to kill Isabel and mutliated her corpse, and then threatened Emma, annoying Jae. He dismissed both of them and told Emma of Lily's association with Isabel and her role in the death of their cousin Lizzie and Isabel's other victims, causing Emma to flee in a fit of emotion and confusion. Jae resigned himself to Dorothy's company as he was physically incapable of getting away from her, and they stuck together for the next day, not encountering anyone else until they arrived at the northwest cliffs the following night.

Here they found Hazel and Jordan, the first time Jae had seen either since that fateful night Jae had run away from Hazel. He gestured for Dorothy to stay back and approached tentatively, when Hazel suddenly apologized he did as well, not sure what else it was he could say. Hazel began to cry as she walked towards him, then she reaffirmed that he deserved to be sorry and punched him, a punch Jae immediately felt he deserved. And then immediately things went wrong, as Dorothy suddenly rushed in and attacked Hazel in her belief that she needed to defend Jae. Min-jae immediately forced Dorothy away with the staff, attacking wildly until Dorothy fled. Jae then ran to Hazel's side and desperately tried to somehow help her despite the clear futility, Hazel suddenly skittered off after granting him forgiveness and ran, into the darkness of nearby trees, Jae was left with only the jacket he'd given Hazel. He chased after her, begging or threatening her to come back to him, but he only caught up to an already dead body. He sobbed, falling to his knees. Jordan caught up and approached the body, leaving Jae to vanish into the night, unable to compose any final words for Hazel.

The next morning found Min-jae back at the asylum once more, wandering in a daze after the finality of losing everyone he cared for. He happened across Brendan once again, along with his allies Alba and Jonathan Gulley. Jae mused for a bit on his irrational hatred and bullying of Brendan throughout their school years and just why people that he hated were still alive while his friends had died, and impulse drove him to fire the crossbow at Brendan when he had a clear shot. He struck Brendan in the stomach and fled when Alba caught sight of him and fired in retaliation, grazing him.

Jae fled deeper into the wards until he reached the solitary confinement rooms, where he rested, unsure if the injury he had inflicted on Brendan would actually be fatal. He slipped into a room and sat there in a daze for a while, until Jonathan approached and entered the room, following Jae's somewhat delirious laughter. Jon waited until Min-jae noticed his presence and reacted with confusion and surprise, before slamming the door shut and barring it, trapping Jae inside. Jae panicked and struggled unsuccessfully to open the door, trying to calm himself until he heard noise from outside that signaled the door had been unblocked again. Jae loaded the crossbow and warily opened the door, only to be startled by and shoot what he thought was his assailant. It turned out to be the body of Conrad Harrod, which Jonathan had propped against the door before hiding as a threat and a message to Min-jae. While he was unnerved, Jae was also angered and annoyed, and he reflected on the fact that he kept letting his anger drive him as an excuse not to die yet. He departed when Jon didn't show himself again, having slipped away.

Jae left the asylum behind again, spending the rest of the day walking to the other side of the island the long way. He managed to lose Jonathan on the way but doubted that it would be the last he saw of him. He took shelter for the night in the storehouse, where he was surprised to find that Dorothy had apparently died since their last encounter, having choked to death while eating. Jae felt some mean-spirited amusement at Dorothy's fate, but he was still angry, tired, and depressed from the nine days he had spent on the island, and he sat next to her body and talked to it while smoking, discussing the conclusions he had come to about death, SOTF, and humanity in general, all of them negative. He looted some of Dorothy's supplies and her weapons and also elected to take a hair pin that had belonged to Asha for its sentimental value before begrudgingly wishing Dot's spirit luck in the next life and going to sleep.

He left her quickly when he woke late in the evening, suddenly spooked. He returned to the asylum and found Nate Turner, or rather Nate found him and called out, triggering Min-jae's paranoia. Nate didn't seem to know who he was and asked if Min-jae needed help, Min-jae confirmed he was fine and asked for any evidence of his masked tormentor. Nate responded in the negative and asked for Clarice Halwood, who Min-jae had not seen. At this point Nate's staying hidden, asking odd questions, and Min-jae's general deteriorating state was beginning to turn his paranoia violent, he reached for the crossbow. Nate began to shout, that got the first shot, and Min-jae was overwhelmed, unable to think and only capable of operating on survival instincts as he stalked around, shouting for Nate to leave him alone as he saw the dead in the shadows around him. He fired several more shots indiscriminately until a desperate Nate toppled some of the books on a shelf onto Min-jae, which caught him on the head and sent him prone. Nate fled with a murmured apology, to Min-jae's bemusement, he rested alone in the dark for a while to catch his bearings.

The next day it was revealed he'd won BKA, he didn't bother to go for it until late in the day. When he did arrive at the pub to collect it he took the weapon and tossed out the food and drink despite his own logical and visceral protests against such petty and wasteful spite. He took a single bottle of whiskey and departed quickly on that note.

He elected to head out to the bell tower next, as it was one of the few places in the asylum area that didn't hold awful memories. Min-jae was paranoid to see the mangled corpse of Alessio in the path, and his paranoia served him well for once. His still masked and unknown hunter, Jonathan, had set the bait and only barely missed with his gun. Min-jae was able to get into shelter at the base of the tower, and he used the rifle to blast the bell, deafening Jon while Jon was unable to get back at Min-jae. Min-jae ran for the stairs, using regular shots at the bell as his cover, Jon waited for him at the top with mask and machete. They were embroiled into a messy melee, parrying each other with their weapons, neither landing decisive blows until Jon kicked Min-jae's leg out from under him. Min-jae was almost ready to give in and die, until Jon named Brendan as his motivator for revenge. That drew Min-jae back to his efforts, out of contempt, he lunged back and bullrushed Jon over the edge of the bell tower. Min-jae tossed the hated mask away now that he knew his enemy, but he had little time to reflect or rest, as Jon was somehow still alive, had limped away. The tables were turned, Min-jae was the hunter now, and he was intent on finishing it.

Min-jae tracked Jon into the basement area of the asylum, hobbling on his weakening splint, carefully hunting through the water treatment rooms for his prey that vexed him for how impossibly stubborn it was. Jon was able to use the complex layout to duck into and out of the hallway via various doors, constantly staying a step ahead of Min-jae's bullets. He taunted Min-jae with claims of righteous revenge, Min-jae fired back by saying Michael Crowe- one of Jon's other named reasons for hunting down Min-jae- was also a coward. Jon continued to rant, until Min-jae was tired of it and merely wanted someone to die, whoever it would be. Jon finally charged, with the machete, Min-jae tried and failed to catch it with his hand, ruining that hand but also allowing him to grab the machete and turn it on Jon. Jon was fatally wounded but somehow still kicking, he drove Min-jae to the floor. Min-jae found the rifle he'd earlier lost when Jon had charged and cracked Jon across the head. Min-jae could still hear noises as he walked away, to his horror, he rushed out of there, leaving Jon for dead.

In his blind panic, Jae stumbled into the one-on-one therapy rooms and collided with Blair Moore, sending them both to the ground and causing Blair to fire her gun in a panic. He disentangled himself but didn't have the energy to rise before Kimiko Kao announced her presence by cocking her gun. Too exhausted to be antagonistic, Min-jae greeted her in sign language, a skill he had developed years back when he and Kimiko were friends. Kimiko and Blair both seemed hesitant to initiate conflict, and Kimiko eventually lowered her gun, asking if Jae needed help. Blair quickly left, and Jae accepted Kimiko's offer. She tended to the worst of his injuries and they discussed what had happened to them and what they planned to do now. Kimiko confirmed her intent to win, while Jae was still undecided on anything other than making winning harder for everyone else out of spite. He wanted to leave, as the therapy rooms held bad memories for him, and Kimiko surprised him by asking to come along. He agreed, and she supported him as they left.

The next morning confirmed that Jonathan had died, along with Caedyn and Emma. Min-jae and Kimiko explored parts of the asylum that they hadn't yet looked at, and reached the cafeteria. Kimiko entered first as Jae was lagging behind due to his bad leg, but she suddenly stopped when she encountered Alba and Fiyori Senay. Jae recognized Alba from their previous altercations and immediately went for his gun. He stayed in the doorway while Kimiko went for cover behind a table, and their combined fire wounded Alba, driving her and Fiyori back into the kitchen. After the other two retreated, Jae joined Kimiko inside and she confirmed that they should follow Fiyori and Alba and finish them off. They entered the kitchen with Kimiko leading, but quickly found that the situation had turned against them; in order to buy time for Fiyori's escape, Alba chose to sacrifice herself by detonating the landmine she had been carrying in the hopes of killing Kimiko and Min-jae along with herself. Kimiko was fatally wounded by shrapnel, and Jae was briefly knocked out by the blast.

Fiyori re-entered the building through the window that she had jumped out of for cover, and approached Jae as he came to. He spent a few minutes trying to play dead in hopes that she would leave, but she wasn't fooled and she casually confirmed that she wasn't going to kill him right then. Jae was aggravated, but had no strength to move in retaliation as Fiyori left. Min-jae remained in the kitchen as the day wore on, drinking the whiskey he had taken from the bar and smoking in order to distract himself from the pain of his injuries while he reflected on how the game was coming to a close. He came to the conclusion that he had to die on his own terms somehow.

Min-jae's destroyed body could barely even get him to the roof, when he emerged into the rain he could see all the remainder who had made it this far. He settled in one spot near one of the rooftop doors, certain he was dying, wanting to get it over with. Candice Banks was the first to approach him, he was bluntly surprised when she stupidly asked if he was alright. Candice's ambling around the point annoyed Min-jae, he decided he didn't care about her motive and had nothing to say to her, asking her to shoot if she was going to. Candice continued to hesitate until Fiyori Senay started to approach them, her entry into the equation put spiteful energy back into Min-jae. She asked a friendly question, and Min-jae's answer was a round from his gun that went wild. His instigation turned into a face to face confrontation between Candice and Fiyori that he wanted no part of, he started to limp away, and was drawn to Nate Turner by his sudden outbursts on the sidelines. Min-jae didn't remember Nate, and Nate responded by pointing a gun. Min-jae brusquely encouraged him, but Nate broke down, angrily asking why none of them cared about the people they'd lost. With gunfire between Candice and Fiyori as backdrop Min-jae knew he did care, that he'd cared enough to murder multiple people in revenge for the people he'd lost, but he couldn't articulate that. He only managed to push out an ultimatum: one of them would die at the other's hand. Nate demanded he answer or he'd shoot, Min-jae counted by saying Nate would have shot already if he had it in him. Nate, indeed, could not, he began to sob and Min-jae was once more hollowly disappointed.

Now Min-jae's reckoning came in the form of Fiyori returning triumphant, to embrace Min-jae. He wouldn't go down without a fight, and he bit whatever parts of her he could. They were both punching and kicking, Min-jae had the knife on him but couldn't get distance to pull it out, in frustration he got more and more desperate, finding one of her wounds and digging messily into it, while Fiyori gave back in kind with an attack on his crotch. Their fighting came to an abrupt pause with Nate's intervention, he fired once, hitting Fiyori in the leg. Fiyori slumped, Min-jae watched, surprised and wondering if Nate would follow through. Nate would not, and began to rant about not caring, putting his refusal to fight into his 'terms' that he'd live for, the hill he'd die on. Min-jae took some twisted inspiration in that, picking his own hill to die on. He wouldn't make it, but Fiyori wouldn't either. He was able to secure the knife, and got up, Fiyori got up as well while taunting him. He threw himself at her, but with her reach he could only get the knife into her shoulder. She retaliated by kissing him, his surprise and disgust had him recoiling with a parting gift of a hard bite on her tongue, but she had a better gift to offer back, a fist to the face that finally clocked him. He fell to the ground, sapped of energy at last, and Fiyori kicked him several times before going to deal with Nate.

Min-jae lay, tormented by his own thoughts taunting him. He realized he had to do something before Fiyori got back, either prepare himself for one last fight or kill himself. He started for the knife lost in their melee, but Fiyori got to him first, crushing his grip under her heel. She began to muse on her own life with him as her captive audience, Min-jae's only mode of resistance remaining was to refuse to respond. He could only watch as Fiyori assured him there was still suffering in one of their futures, before she threw herself off the roof.

He mused that he would have done the same thing, with a final defeated anger and bemusement, before he lapsed into unconsciousness as the victory announcement was read.

Post-Game Evaluation: Better to be lucky than good. So they say. For our V6 winner here, better to be neither. - Tracen Danya

Memorable Quotes: "So, Brendan. How's it feel to be a winner for once in your life?" -- Jae casually taunts Brendan for receiving BKA, in a manner reminiscent of their school relationship.

"Brendan. (...) Why are you still alive?" -- Blaming Brendan for daring to still be alive when Jae had lost all the people important to him. Jae had far more to say but was too pained to manage.

"I guess what I'm saying is, nothing lasts forever, and to me that's a good thing. You keep moving, and you'll eventually get through it and get to try again. Even if you're in Hell." -- His beliefs on the life and the afterlife in summary, to Cass.

''“Here’s a secret, Dot: there’s no such thing as dying honorably. Having a ‘good death’ is something we made up to make ourselves feel better, because no matter who you are, what you have, or where you’re going, you’re going alone and you’ve paved the road yourself. Dying isn’t what matters; it’s how you live.”'' -- To Dorothy's corpse.

"I do care. That's why..." -- Min-jae isn't able to articulate, to Nate or himself, why he did indeed care about the lives lost.

Other/Trivia

 * Jae's lip piercings are mistakenly called spider bites in his profile. When worn on both sides of the lower lip, as his are, they're actually called shark bites.
 * Min-jae won the June 2017 Best Kill Award for killing Brendan Harte.
 * Min-jae is the first LGBT-identified winner of a main version.
 * In Hangul, Min-jae's name is written with the characters 珉 ("min", here meaning jade or a similar semi-precious stone, or the color jade green) and 才 ("jae", here meaning "talent").

Threads
Below are a list of threads containing Min-jae, in chronological order:

The Past:
 * Measuring Eyes
 * You're nothing if you're just another
 * Book Reports for Assholes: An Illustrated Guide
 * You Look Like I Need A Drink

V6 Pregame:
 * (For a Film)
 * Black Kingdom, Red Kingdom
 * Bittersweet and Sour
 * Hell is Other People

Sadie Hawkins Dance:
 * Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time
 * He's So Fine And Different

V6:
 * This Isn't My Home, It's Where I'm Locked Away
 * デビュー
 * Five Finger Death Punch
 * We're Here Because We're Here
 * We're In This Together
 * Into the Veil
 * Devil's Choir
 * Happy Hour with the Deicide Squad
 * Love, Fear, Choices and Astronauts
 * I swear I'm not a jumper.
 * Flowers Hurt
 * The Scarlet Garden
 * How Easy it was to Lie to Strangers
 * I know my soul's freezin', Hell's hot for good reason
 * Rear-End Collision
 * Gift for the Darkness
 * This Is The End Of His Story
 * give me shadow, put on my crown.
 * Caraphernelia
 * 友達
 * Chew Until It Bleeds
 * No Rest for the Obsessed
 * Talons
 * Takasago
 * Battle Royale
 * When I grow up, I want to be Nothing At All
 * Rivers in the Desert

Post-game:
 * V6 Epilogue: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

Related Threads in Meanwhile:
 * 오랜만이다

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Min-jae Parker. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''
 * Min-jae more like Min-bae amirite Z?-Espi


 * I have no idea how long it's been since I wrote that but my opinion still stands-Jae is my favorite V6 character. I think the most driving, defining point of Jae is how relatable he is even when he's being awful to other people. Even in pregame, his grumpy demeanor is tempered by this; he's sullen and angry, but he's also able to have a deeper conversation with someone. He finds himself in situations where his emotions control him, and sometimes he doesn't know what those emotions are, and I personally really felt that.

Jae continues this trend on the island, letting his emotions control him even as he tried to remain composed. I think that marks his descent into outright villainy, because as the game goes on he becomes increasingly destructive and violent as he lets his feelings dictate his actions, like when he goes from hating Brendan to outright murdering him.

The interesting part is that while he is objectively doing bad things to people, often for terrible reasons, he still manages to relate to me. He's hurting people, but because of what happens around him from being assaulted in his very first scene, to watching his loved ones like Henry and Asha die, to being both physically and mentally broken down, that you feel sorry for him. There's always the sense that things could've been different in another time.

I love Jae, basically. He's not a nice guy, or even a good one, but I can't help but feel sorry for him as he makes mistakes and beats himself up and suffers until he can't even find it in himself to to the right thing. I have absolutely no regrets heroing him, and I'm so enthused with what his story became.--Espi